Book Cover Photography

Book cover photography seems to be one of the holy grails of photography. Whilst some photographs are made specifically for stock, usually with a particular market in mind, I find that the most satisfying sales are often of photographs, which were easy to create. For example, the cat on the cover of Georges Simenon’s Le Chat (see below) is our cat Camillo on the window sill of our living room, shortly before we had the windows replaced with something less draughty. His modelling fee was reasonable: a few cat treats and a cuddle. I could go on with anecdotes about several other photographs.

Alas, book cover (and all stock) photography has become futile for professional photographers. What used to yield attractive commissions now pays a fraction of the price of a good shirt.

Below is a selection of book covers by leading publishers around the world, using my photography.